‘Creativity is a skill that everyone has’: analysing creative workers’ self-presentations

Eikhof, D. R. and Chudzikowski, K. (2019) ‘Creativity is a skill that everyone has’: analysing creative workers’ self-presentations. Creative Industries Journal, 12(1), pp. 34-47. (doi: 10.1080/17510694.2018.1535731)

Abstract

This paper discusses the research use of creative workers’ publicly available self-presentations such as documentaries or social media posts. In so doing it contributes to our understanding of how creative workers might fruitfully be researched. The paper, firstly, argues that self-presentations can provide valuable and rich insights into creative workers’ self-understanding, and thus can be of interest to creative industries researchers. Secondly, using the example of a film produced by Austrian product designers, the paper then demonstrates why researchers need to consider the processes through and contexts in which self-presentations are generated. The paper explains why self-presentations may not be treated in the same way as the first person accounts traditionally generated for social science research, and presents recommendations for how self-presentations might form parts of rigorous research designs.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Eikhof, Professor Doris Ruth
• Authors: Eikhof, D. R., and Chudzikowski, K.
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Culture and Creative Arts > Theatre Film and TV Studies
• Journal Name: Creative Industries Journal
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• ISSN: 1751-0694
• ISSN (Online): 1751-0708